


Captured

by ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish



Series: Ree [31]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Damsels in Distress, F/M, Fanfiction, Kidnapped, Locked In, Long Shot, Multi, Threats, Threats of Violence, To Be Continued
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 12:23:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12984009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish/pseuds/ReleasingTheKrakenIsMyFetish
Summary: Ree wakes up in a strange place and finds that she's in serious trouble. 2nd Long shot of Ree & Hancock (And Valentine).





	Captured

The first thing that registered in my mind was hearing low humming. I was laying down and behind my closed eyelids I could detect a dim light. Wow. These sheets under my bare arms and legs feel really good. Did someone change them since the first night we spent in Sunshine Tidings? The cottage didn't smell like it used to, either. No earthy smell of rotten leaves, or the faint, lingering scent of mold. The air was fresh... and almost clinical.

I wanted to scratch my nose, but something was holding my arm down. Had I really been so drunk last night that I'd managed to tangle myself with my clothes? Hancock will certainly have a blast today, teasing me for not knowing my limits. Not that he even had those himself.

When I finally got my eyes open, I stared at the ceiling in confusion. It was white. Something was standing next to my head and after a while, when I managed to focus my eyesight, I recognized it. It was an IV stand. A half-empty bag with clear liquid had been hanged on it, and the tube wreathed down before ending in a needle, which was attached on my left arm.

The first reflex was to pull the needle out, but I still couldn't move my arm. Or my legs. I lifted my head to see that I had been tied on to the bed. The ties were soft, but they didn't stretch even a bit. I started to feel the panic rising in my chest like a sour bile. I hardly noticed that I wasn't wearing anything but my tank top and shorts.

_Where am I?_

I looked around and tried to keep my eyes just darting aimlessly here and there. The room was small. Almost everything was white. In addition to the bed I was in there was just a small table (white) with two chairs (white, with pale blue legs) in the middle of the room, and a dresser (white, again) with three drawers. On top of the dresser was some neatly folded cloth, I couldn't see from here what they were.

The room also had a large window on one wall, but the blinds were on the other side and shut. Next to it was a closed, metallic sliding door. For some reason the door looked familiar, but I couldn't place it anywhere in my memories.

I tried to wiggle myself out from the strains, even just one wrist, but it was futile. Just when I slumped back on the bed sighing, the door slid open and someone stepped in. My head popped up and I was very aware how scared I must have looked.

She was maybe the age of 55-60. She had a stylishly cut hair; a short bob with wavy features. Her hair was blonde, but it had few grey streams. She was thin, almost delicate, and wearing a long, white coat just made her figure look even more slender. She was pleasant to watch and she walked next to my bed, wearing a friendly smile.

”Oh dear, you're awake! Before you ask, that's just fluids we're giving you. Earlier we injected some RadAway, because we detected some mild radiation. You were somewhat dehydrated when you came in, so I thought you might feel better after this.”

Her voice matched her looks. It was a voice of someone who you could immediately trust without really knowing why. It had just the perfect amount of authority, sweetness and concern.

I swallowed and made an effort to talk without my voice faltering too much.

”Where am I?”

She checked the IV as she replied.

”Safe, dear. You are safe. The reason I had you tied was because you were in a shock last night, and I didn't want you to hurt yourself or ripping the needle out. I'll let you loose in a while, after we've talked and you have calmed down. Sound good?”

Without awaiting my response she drew a chair next to the bed and sat down, folding her skinny hands neatly on her lap.

”Now. Let's start with the basics. My name is Rebecca Branson. You can call me Dr. Branson. We can switch to first names after we've become more acquainted, don't you agree?”

Her voice was cool and calm, but it didn't make me relax one bit. I kept my eyes on her and registered every small movement she made.

”Sure”, I said, reserved and careful.

”And what can I call you? I was told your name is Ree, but how about your last name?”

”Ree's fine”, I croaked after a moment of shock.

”You don't have a last name?” Dr. Branson frowned. It made only teeny-tiny lines on her forehead.

”I don't use it anymore. It doesn't matter.”

”Could it be because your old life? Back before the war?”

I blinked. How could she know all that? Oh. Must've been Thomas.

”Well, as you said, it hardly matters. If it's okay with you I'll call you just Ree, then. Now”, she leaned forward, ”Plainly put the situation is this. We need your help in order to rebuild. To start over. The Institute lost a great deal of resources. Good men, a staggering amount of research results... Almost all of it, gone. Everything that's left we moved here, in an old vault. What you see is the last stand of humanity's future.”

”The... The Institute? But I thought...” My mind was racing so fast that it was hard to grasp a clear conclusion of it all.

”Oh, I'm sure you've heard this and that about our objectives. But I can assure you; we want nothing more but to ensure that human species doesn't get wiped out. You've lived up there. You've seen what the radiation has caused, yes? Mutations. Horrible, sad things. We did have a plan for... well, one could call it a clean slate, but obviously that didn't go too well and we were forced to collect the remains here. Now the main goal for the Institute is to regain its stability and flourish once again.”

Despite my body receiving fluids my mouth felt dry. I watched as Dr. Branson's eyes shone with kindness and excitement when her words were spoken like a precious gift, all wrapped just for me.

Dr. Branson corrected her posture a bit before continuing.

”As I said earlier, you are completely safe. I have fresh clothes for you and someone will soon bring you some dinner. You have been sleeping for quite a long time, so you missed breakfast and lunch. I am now going to open those strains and I trust that you'll act civil?”

What else could I do? I didn't have my gun, I didn't know where exactly we were and how to get out from here. So I nodded slowly. Dr. Branson stood up and gently released my ankles first, then my wrists. She helped me to sit up and put a band-aid on my arm after nipping away the IV needle.

”After you've got yourself properly dressed and have eaten, we'll discuss some more”, Dr. Branson promised. ”Everything will be all right, Ree.”

Yeah, right. Like I was to believe someone telling me that after getting punched and kidnapped. When Dr. Branson left I hurried, or more like waddled since my legs were still flimsy, to examine the door which had neatly closed behind her. It had some kind of key card pad next to it, between the door and the window. So that's that, then. I was locked in.

When I didn't have any better Idea, I turned around to find the stack of clothes on top of the drawer and started putting them on. A white T-shirt, pale blue pants and white socks. These Institute guys really loved bright colors, huh? The clothes felt rough, almost like they had been starched. Maybe they were. It had been so long since I got to wear anything remotely as clean.

I constantly had to brush the hair off my face. Someone had taken my hair tie and only then I realized that my hair had been washed. My fingernails looked like they were picked clean. I blushed furiously. The thought of someone doing something so personal as washing me while I was out... Better to try and just forget it. It couldn't be helped, not anymore.

The door opening made me jump. A synth walked in holding a tray and the door swiftly closed behind him. He wasn't like the synths I knew of – the ones easily passing as humans or Nick, but resembling more of a mannequin. I took few steps back as he neatly placed the tray on the small table. Whatever it was on the tray was covered with a steel lid.

”Please, enjoy your dinner”, the synth said with a even tone and left the room. He didn't use any key cards as far as I could see, but the door was opened and closed again so quickly that I didn't have a chance to see anything of interest behind it. Just a corridor, with the same white panelling and sleek design.

I cautiously grabbed the lid off and uncovered a bottle of water, and a weird white box. Both of them had the same big, round logo on them. The box read ”Assigned Nutrition”. Inside the box I found something reminding me of protein bars, few crackers and some mildly sweet paste. Wow. I'd gladly give up all my caps for baked bloatfly.

Just when I had finished eating the door opened again, with Dr. Branson stepping in with the same synth that came by earlier. Dr. Branson sat on the other side of the table as the synth collected the tray and took it away. When the door closed with a barely audible sound, Dr. Branson placed a clipboard with a form on the table and leaned to it with her pen ready.

”Feeling better, I assume?”

”I guess”, I tried to see what the form was, but couldn't make heads nor tails of it. ”Where's Paul?”

”Oh, the synth that was with you? Don't you worry about him, dear. Now, it's time for us to get to work – no time like present, don't you agree?” Dr. Branson smiled and wrote something down.

”Now... Could you tell me when you were born?”

She kept asking me questions like that for a while. Who were my parents, was I the only child and so on. As I didn't know what use would it be for me to lie, I answered to her. But when she started asking questions about my health and my family's medical history, I stopped.

”Why do you want to know stuff like that?”

Dr. Branson leaned her elbows on the table and gently tapped the paper with the pen.

”Because we need your help in order to rebuild. Ree, you have amazing possibilities. You're someone that was preserved for over 200 years. You don't suffer from mutations and didn't even have notable radiation poisoning. Though I find the latter a small miracle given that you were...” She swallowed and blinked few times. ”Being intimate with a ghoul.”

I blushed, but didn't avert my gaze from her eyes.

”You see, you aren't the first pre-war human we've found after the Institute fell. But they have been either too young, or too old, or had suffered irreversible damage from the life on the surface. What we need is pure DNA. For producing more samples and regaining the seed for our future researches.”

”So... You just want my DNA? You want my blood?”

”Well, yes”, she nodded and put down the pen she had fidgeted with. ”But we also need more pure samples. I'm talking about fetuses. Infants. You are a healthy woman and for what I see, a perfect candidate for delivering healthy offspring.”

I just stared her with my arms crossed, before I found my voice again.

”You- you want me to get pregnant and make babies for you and your... researches? Are you out of your mind? Of course I'm not doing that!”

”Ree”, her tone was scolding. ”Let me finish, please. I do realize what this must sound to you. But as the general situation remains the same, you do have two options; either co-operate with us, for which you will become a valuable part of our community. You'll get your own living quarters, much more comfortable than this little closet here. You will be treated like a high ranking member of the Institute. It would be the easiest and most productive choice for everyone.”

”And the other option is you'll do it anyway without my consent?” I stood up so quickly that the chair almost fell backwards.

Dr. Branson smiled sweetly.

”That is correct, I'm afraid. Believe me, I would not enjoy doing so one bit. That is why I wish for you to make the right decision.”

”Well, sorry to ruin your fine day”, my voice faltered only a little. ”I'm not going to be some... baby-making machine. In fact, I don't even know if I can have babies.”

”Oh, about that. We're going to have to run some more tests, so that will give you around a week to think about how you're going to spend your life here”, Dr. Branson stood up, took the clipboard and put the pen in her pocket. Her tone hadn't changed, but her eyes gave away some mild irritation. ”After the tests we should be able get on with the program. Someone else will be with you shortly, so try to stay calm and think about what we've discussed.”

After her light figure vanished through the door I paced around the room, like an animal in her cage. I had bit through my lip, so my mouth tasted like copper. My heart was beating with the panic and anger which took turns in my head. So, Nick had been right about Thomas. Thomas was probably a courser set to hunt down specimens and escaped synths, which meant that his story about the agent could've been a lie. He had managed to slip in with the Railroad, playing a role of a synth refugee.

I felt the blood draining from my face. Nobody but me knew. Paul too, but I didn't know if he was alive. Thomas could have gone back to Sunshine Tidings easily without anyone noticing. Just snatching synths or people here and there, wouldn't cause too much suspicions and the Institute could re-start their operation in peace.

Remembering what Dr. Branson had said it had been less than 24 hours since I was taken. Hancock and Valentine would definitely know by now that something had happened. Nick would've inspected the cabin. He'd noticed that there wasn't any signs of someone breaking in, that I had left the bed by myself. Maybe he had been able to track my steps to the toilet shack... But what then? I didn't know if we had left any traces when Thomas had transferred us here.

I glanced at the window and was taken aback how vulnerable I looked in the faint reflection. I straightened my back and stared myself angrily. I had to think of a way to escape this place. Dr. Branson had told me that this had been an old vault. Which meant that there's also a door leading out. This wasn't like the Institute's previous hiding place with the teleport being the only exit.

Before I knew it I had grabbed one of the chairs and flung it at the window. It didn't shatter, barely even vibrated after making a contact with metal legs. I squeezed the chair in my hands and hit the glass again, and again, until my arms were aching and I had to bend down and gasp for air. With every breath I was forcing back the tears which already were stinging behind my eyes. Crying wouldn't solve anything.

_I have to get out. There's no alternative. I'm not going to be another Institute's guinea pig. John... I'll definitely get out and see you again. Nick, please keep him safe._

…

”John. Put it away”, Nick prompted with steady voice.

”This piece of shit says he knows if anyone goes in or out, so how the fuck two people go missing just like that?” Hancock growled and pressed the blade against Howard's neck.

The leader of Sunshine Tidings was sweating visibly, his back against the wall of his cottage.

”I already told you, Mr. Hancock”, the man said wearily. ”The guards didn't see anything. Nobody went out and nobody came in. I have no reason to suspect any of my men lying about it, either. Almost all of them knew the young fellow and also that the girl and him shouldn't be allowed to leave.”

”John”, Nick's stern voice came behind the ghoul, who's black eyes were flashing with rage.

”Nick, Ree's been missing since last night. And nobody can find the boyfriend of your target, either. The only person I can get any answers from is this one here”, Hancock tightened his grip from Howard's jacket.

”Well, he can't really help us if you gonna slice his windpipe.”

Hancock's face darkened and after a few seconds he let Howard go. Without saying a word he tucked the combat knife under his crimson jacket and stomped out. Howard felt his throat and his hand came down with red spots.

”Mr. Valentine, I don't know what to say”, he sighed and wiped his hand on his sleeve. ”Mary's almost hysterical because of Paul gone missing. She thinks Paul left her and is now on the run with your lost friend. But I'm sure that's not the case.”

”No, it's not”, Nick sighed and lit a cigarette. He walked by the open door and watched Hancock walking further away. ”I think I need to contact the Railroad for this. There are details... traces, pointing mostly in the same direction. Don't like it one bit.”

_Then there's John. I've never seen him like this. Not that I blame him – I'm worried, too. Ree, what the hell did you get yourself in?_

 


End file.
